LITMIR.BIZ

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Matt advised. “Don’t inflate your payroll.”

      Frankie gave a crooked smile. “And don’t make anyone kale and spinach smoothies.”

      “She does that?” Jake winced. “If a woman ever made me that, our relationship would be over.”

      “It’s breakfast,” Eva said cheerfully. “Your relationships never last until breakfast, so you’re safe.”

      “Breakfast is the most serious meal of the day and the word serious doesn’t appear in my vocabulary.”

      A statement Paige knew to be untrue. She knew that Jake advised on cyber security at the highest level. Her brother had once told her Jake was the smartest guy he’d ever met. It was only in his relationships that the word serious didn’t appear.

      And she knew why.

      He’d talked to her about it, before she’d created a rift between them.

      “This is exciting.” Eva gave Frankie a light punch on the shoulder. “I’m going into business with my two best friends. Maybe you could give me a fancy title. That would make my day. How does Vice President sound?”

      Paige felt a flicker of tension. Being responsible for herself was one thing, but being responsible for both her friends was something else entirely. Jake, she knew, employed hundreds of people in several cities across the globe.

      How did he sleep at night?

      How did Matt sleep at night?

      Paige glanced at her brother and he gave a faint smile of understanding.

      “Ready to ask me for help yet? You might find I know a thing or two if you ask me. And Jake deals with start-ups all the time. He gives advice and he invests. We both have contacts. We can talk to a few companies—get you introductions.”

      Paige didn’t want to ask Jake for help.

      Even that brief conversation had left her feeling unsettled. Asking for help would mean getting close to him, spending more time with him. There was no way she was up to that.

      “You’ve helped me enough. I want to do this on my own. I can do this, Matt. You’ve been bailing me out of trouble since I was four years old. It’s time I did something on my own.”

      “You do plenty on your own.” He sighed. “At least let me help with the legal side. Company setup, tax, insurance—as Jake said, there’s a lot to think about.”

      It made sense. “All right. Thank you.”

      Matt stood up. “I’ll call my lawyers in the morning. You need a business plan—”

      “I’ll work on it tonight and tomorrow.”

      “Talk it through with me. And we need to talk about funding.”

      “Matt, you’re smothering me.”

      Her brother gave her a long look. “I’m offering you business advice and financial backing, and before you turn it down you should probably check with your business partners.”

      “I want you to help and advise,” Eva said immediately, “especially if you’re not going to charge. I’ll cook for you in return. In fact I’ll do anything except look after your psychotic cat.”

      “I’ll look after the cat,” Frankie muttered. “She’s suspicious of humans and I get that. If you’ll help, I’ll care for the roof garden all summer.”

      “You already do that for me. And you do a great job. I’d employ you in a heartbeat.”

      Paige glanced up from the list she was typing on her phone. “You’re poaching my team before we’re even officially a business?”

      “All the more reason to use me in an advisory capacity. I’m less likely to steal your staff.”

      “Fine! You win. You can advise. But no hovering over me. I want to do this myself. If this is a success I want it to be because of me.”

      “But if we fail, then we could blame him.” Eva’s cheeks dimpled. “I’d be happy to bask in success but losing my job twice in one week would dent my confidence horribly.”

      Paige heard the uncertainty in Eva’s voice and a blaze of determination shot through her. She’d do this right. Whatever it took, she’d do it.

      “We still need a company name, and we need it to say what we do.”

      “We do a bit of everything from the sounds of it,” Eva said. “Whatever you want—your wish is our command.” She said it with a dramatic flourish and Paige put her phone down.

      “That’s it.”

      “What is?”

      “It’s brilliant. Your wish is our command. That’s our tagline. Or our mission statement or whatever it’s called.”

      “You’ll have people phoning you for sex,” Jake drawled, reaching for another beer.

      The flickering candles sent a golden glow across his lean dark features. Watching him woke up parts of her she would have rather stayed asleep.

      She was almost relieved that he’d returned to being annoying. “Do you have anything helpful to contribute?”

      “Unless you want men phoning you with indecent requests, that observation was helpful.”

      “Not everyone thinks about sex all the time. We need a company name that goes with that. Genie Incorporated? Genie Girls?” She pulled a face and shook her head. “No.”

      “Clever Genie.” Frankie deadheaded a rose.

      Matt stirred. “City Genie?”

      “Urban Genie.” It was Jake who spoke, his voice low and sexy in the darkness. “And anytime you three want to rub my lamp, go right ahead.”

      Paige turned toward him, a sharp rejection on her lips, and then she stopped.

       Urban Genie.

      It was perfect.

      “I love it.”

      “I love it, too.” Frankie nodded and so did Eva.

      “Paige Walker, CEO of Urban Genie. You’re in the driving seat, heading down the freeway to fortune. I’m happy to be your passenger.” Eva raised her glass and frowned. “My glass is half-full.”

      Frankie grinned. “I would have said the glass was half-empty. I guess that says a lot about the difference between us.”

      “We each bring our different strengths to the business and there are no passengers.” Paige reached for the champagne bottle and topped up Eva’s glass. “You’re driving, too.”

      “Hey, I can change a wheel but I’m not driving the car.” Frankie brushed soil from her sweatpants. “That’s your job.”

      Their faith in her was as scary as it was heartwarming.

      “Three women drivers,” Jake drawled, glancing at Matt. “Better start taking the subway.”

      Paige knew he was winding her up but this time she didn’t care.

      Anticipation and excitement rushed through her. She was starting her own business. Right now. And with her closest friends.

      What could be better?

      “Urban Genie. We’re in business.” She raised her glass. “Eva, go and rescue your lucky shirt. We’re going to need it.”

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